Chile’s Finance Minister Mario Marcel recently stated that a total of 54 companies from 10 countries have expressed strong interest in developing lithium mining projects in Chile. These companies have already submitted letters of intent, hoping to secure the opportunity to develop 88 lithium mining projects through an open application and approval process that begins in April and closes at the end of June.
　　Chile boasts the world’s largest lithium reserves and is the second-largest lithium producer globally, following Australia. The government is seeking to consolidate its role in the lithium industry through state-led projects as well as private investment. In mid-April, the Chilean government issued a call for proposals to launch lithium projects in more than 20 salt lakes that have yet to be fully explored, while maintaining state control over the Atacama Salt Flat—the world’s largest salt flat, located along the border between northern Chile and southern Bolivia—and the Maricunga Salt Flat—the second-largest lithium-rich salt flat in Chile.
　　However, investors are also watching to see how the Chilean government will handle the contracts for lithium development projects in salt lakes that have already been granted mining concessions; this is because some of these salt-lake lithium projects could give rise to dual ownership.